Serendipity
by TwlghtDrmr
Summary: The sky was so blue, blue, blue, and for a moment it sent her world teetering and the longing ache in her heart of familiar nostalgia almost made her cry. And when her gaze shifted downward, there was Paul, watching her. //Ikarishipping\\//V-Day Special\\


**Serendipity**

_/ / when I remember far far back / /_

_/ / the future was bright for as far as I could see / /_

_/ / underneath the beautiful blue sky / /_

_/ / we were a little afraid / /_

_

* * *

  
_

_/ / Underneath the blue sky… / /_

* * *

_Summary: The sky was so blue, blue, blue, like they had been when she was just a child, and for a moment sent her world teetering and the longing ache in her heart of familiar nostalgia and it almost made her cry. And when her gaze shifted downward, there was Paul, watching her. / / Ikarishipping / /_

* * *

Ikarishipping.

Semi-AU. (Ish…)

Enough said.

SO HERE IS MY EARLY VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT TO YOU! Happy early Valentine's Day, my friends!!

YAY FOR SINGLES' AWARENESS DAY (EARLY)!!!!! (at least, in my case… D: ughhh.)

* * *

She'd wondered when everything had started to change. Perhaps it was after she'd left the familiar faces of her traveling companions, or perhaps it was when those gawky adolescent years suddenly became mature faces, surrounded by a world that seemed perhaps too childish for them.

But it was her world, and she loved it. Everybody did. And then things changed. Misty was suddenly gone, traveling the world once again with her beloved Ash, and Dawn was sure that she was going to get the invitation for a wedding soon. May was suddenly always with Drew, whether it be friendly chatting or eating a parfait at the local café they'd both come to adore, or "training", as May liked to put it.

Hah, training Dawn's ass.

But it was fine, it was good. Dawn still had her pokemon to keep her company, and she continued to tell herself that was all she needed.

And again, she was content.

Until she got lonely.

Dawn had progressively become more and more lonely, although there was still time in her friends' lives for the occasional dinner out whenever Misty was back in town and May had reserved a seat at their favorite restaurant, to talk, chat, and bring each other up to speed. Even though technically Misty still was listed on the rent of the apartment the three girls lived in, in their beloved Slateport, she was gone so often one could consider her to not live there, but that her home traveled wherever Ash traveled. And yet, she still sent her share of the rent every month, because there was never just one home anywhere in the world.

And although the house was beginning to feel less and less like a home, Dawn still loved it, no matter how empty and seemingly unfamiliar it seemed at times.

But perhaps luck was on her side.

* * *

She hadn't really expected it, but then again she'd learned to stop expecting things and let life ride itself out the way it was supposed to; unexpectedly.

It'd been strange to see his face at first, hard lines having softened ever so slightly and his build strong, height towering over her at least a good head or so. His eyes were still the same dark obsidian color, his hair perhaps a tinge lighter to an almost lavender; although he'd probably have killed her if she'd told him that.

She'd cautiously approached him at first, recognizing that they hadn't been on the greatest terms ever when they were still teens. He'd been somewhat cold, but nothing like the frigid idiotic ice cube he'd been on the occasional bumps into each other when they had been traveling, not together but still towards the same goal.

Of course, their meeting had been purely chance, and luck. There had been no mark in the tabloids of where Paul was heading next, although she figured it was mostly because he usually "neglected" to indicate what his next move was, in battle and out of battle. Dawn had almost collided into him, but had managed to stop herself, quickly, staring at him for a moment with wide eyes and mouth agape, a flush settled pleasantly on her cheeks. He hadn't noticed her at the moment, but when he turned to face her open-mouthed stare, she saw the flash of surprise fly through his eyes as well.

And then the next sentence out of her mouth was, "Hi, Paul! Want to have dinner?"

And perhaps, she muses, that's when it started.

At first it had started out simply with dinner, and a quick catch-up on details the magazines had left out about Paul's impressive battling career, before he, in turn listened to Dawn's problems and her complaints, the most of her career in the off-season at the moment and with nothing momentous having happened since her last Grand Festival, Dawn could only fill the time with her complaints. She was surprised to find that Paul had been an exceedingly good listener.

Either that, or he'd just tuned her out and nodded or offered a simple 'hn' in all the right places.

And then it started to progress – they frequently bumped into each other on the streets of Slateport, and Dawn would invite him to lunch or invite (translation: _drag_) Paul with her to go shopping, showing him all her favorite local hot spots and where the cheapest clothing could be bought. As much as he complained in his silent, brooding manner, Dawn was sure he would rather have been with her than alone in the large, unfamiliar city.

And Dawn knew how that felt.

At first she'd kept her conversations with the bare minimum, or referenced other people when in all reality she was talking about herself. She'd talked about broad, generalized topics, or complained about things friends normally complained about; landlords, rent, money, making money, boys (although Paul typically rolled his eyes at this one), Misty and Ash, Drew and May – and then she had accidentally slipped on her feeling lonely.

But rather than burst out laughing (although that _was_ a worst case scenario, an extremely out of character Paul scenario) or simply roll his eyes, he gave her a look that when she looked, she saw a little empathy behind his coal eyes.

* * *

Their favorite spot was under a large oak tree situated in the middle of the forest. It was the tallest tree, and provided unlimited amounts of shade, close to a large waterfall that fell into a pool, large rocks jutting out perfect for jumping off of and into the water.

At the young age of 20, Dawn had never felt so much like a teen again.

Their platonic, purely friendly relationship had started to change somewhere along the way, Dawn had noticed. At first it'd started with him offering to walk her home (which, she'd excused as him being "gentlemanly") and then she started to notice the way her heart sped up whenever she thought of him, or how she'd stopped looking for boyfriends because perhaps she'd found a model nobody could fit into. One day, they were sitting in the forest, Dawn having dragged Paul for a picnic in the forest purely for the sake of getting outside, rather than staying cooped up in his dreary apartment he'd just recently purchased.

As she leaned against the tree, she could feel the rough edges of the bark pressing against her back, her eyes half-lidded and her body relaxed in the summer air of Slateport, sunlight slanting through the canopies of trees, leaves casting shadows that shifted and swayed with the wind. Her eyes found Paul, who was standing at the water's edge, curiously peering upwards towards the blue sky.

Dawn followed his gaze, her eyes peering upward; her cobalt bangs brushing against her temple. The sky was so blue, blue, blue, like they had been when she was just a child, and for a moment sent her world teetering and the longing ache in her heart of familiar nostalgia and it almost made her cry. And when her gaze shifted downward, there was Paul, watching her.

Waiting.

* * *

When he'd announced to her he was going to be taking a small leave from Slateport, Dawn had quickly brushed the feeling of resentment from her heart, squashing it under her foot. He'd said it'd only be for a month, but Dawn was never so sure, after seeing the month-long trips Misty took turn into two, to three, to four months, and the few hours May would spend with Drew turn to days, weeks, and then perhaps a month. Dawn could only wonder what the two did for so long, always remarking coyly at dinner about the activities the two engaged in, trying to lighten the sometimes awkward mood and the gloom inside her heart.

She tried not to think that she was alone, as her footsteps echoed in the large, silent apartment.

But sometimes, she just couldn't help it.

* * *

A few weeks had passed, and suddenly there was nothing but noise.

There was a loud ruckus at the door of May and Misty talking loudly to each other, complaining and sighing and Dawn could hear the loll of wheels across hardwood floors as Misty moved her luggage into the confinements of their apartment. Looking up at where they were, the family room being sunken and indented into the ground by four steps from the rest of the level of the apartment, Dawn could see May heading for the refrigerator, their open floor plan apartment now coming in Dawn's advantage.

"Phew, I'm definitely not traveling for a few months!" Misty complained, waving her hand at her face, her recent trip being to Volencia Island.

"Yeah, it's about time you settled down, anyway." May joked, and Dawn could hear the _click_ and _fizz_ of a soda can being opened. She turned off the TV and stood, her joints sliding into place.

"Whoa, what're you guys doing here?" Dawn questioned, walking up the steps towards the kitchen island. May and Misty threw her weird looks.

"Uh, we live here, remember? Who else pays for the expensive rent?" May laughed, soda propped casually in her hand.

"Seriously, Dawn!" Misty laughed, "I mean, I know we're not here a lot but this is still home, you know?"

Dawn stared at them blankly for a moment, before smiling widely and joining in on the laughter. Misty propped herself forward on the island, as Dawn jumped up onto it and sat cross-legged, May opting to lean against the refrigerator. It was just like old times, and Dawn sat there and realized, that perhaps this was how it'd always been – even if they were gone for a long time, they'd still be just that; Misty and May, her best friends.

She turned her body as they fell silent, all watching as storm clouds gathered outside their window, and the slow _pitter patter_ of rain the only sound that filled the apartment, rain drops hitting the window and hanging, only for a moment, before sliding down to join more water and create a steady stream before disappearing beneath the floorboards.

Dawn smiles to her friends as she pulls her clear, bubble umbrella out from hiding in the closet. She's changed into her favorite white cotton dress, and a pair of elegant baby pink flats with a bow towards the front of the shoe. Waving good-bye, she walks out of her apartment and heads down the elevator towards the doors, the umbrella popping open with ease before she hoists it against her shoulder, the rough and heavy pounding of rain filling her ears.

Although the apartment is alive once again with friends and sounds and chatters, and although it feels just like home again, her heart yearns for another place.

Because there is never just one home in the world – it's everywhere the heart is.

Dawn pays no attention to where she is going, thick rain mixed with humid fog mingling and it's almost hard for her to see where she is heading, but her feet see what her eyes do not. And then trees surround her, walking a familiar path down to her favorite spot – the large oak tree. The rain is relentless, but the sound of water against water soothes her for a moment, as she leans her hand against the coarse bark of the proverbial oak tree she'd become so accustomed to with Paul. Dawn looked towards the water, dropping her umbrella and stepping out from under the safety of the tree to the cool rain in the warm summer air. She slips her ballet flats off, letting herself twirl gently under the gray sky and falling rain, the wet grass under her feet.

She lets out a laugh before stopping, her head spinning and her vision blurred.

"I had a feeling you would be here." He murmurs in her ear, arms wrapping across her shoulders. And she smiles through the rain before turning, assured.

And Paul is there, just like always, his white short-sleeved button up soaked through and his hair hanging limp and sticking to his face. She giggles, eyes half-lidded as the water slides down her hair and neck, wet hair scratchy and uncomfortable against her skin. He wraps his arms around her tighter, and she sighs contentedly against him, before drawing her gaze upward, pushing against her tip toes to reach as he bends forward to meet his lips with hers.

She grasps onto his arms, hands trembling.

And as she feels the warmth and smooth skin under her fingertips, she knows she is home.

* * *

So… yeah, does anybody else feel like this was kind of angsty? I mean, honestly.

So, this ended up being 6 pages without me realizing it. Strange, isn't it? Ohohohoho!

Serendipity means good luck, or good fortune.

Well, anywho… I wanted to write this in a sort of, 3rd-person-train-of-thought kind of thing. And sorry about Dawn's whole "angsty-I'm-all-alone" kind of thing – I wanted to make her try and forget it, but I still wanted it to lurk in the back of her mind – and the story, as well. And quite honestly, I feel like the whole alone feeling happens to everybody, including me. So I dunno, but don't bash on the way her character is in this story too hard, okies? :D lol!

So, I started writing this story, right??? And then I realized that I'd just like, written shit and it was all out of order and I had to go back and re-word a lot of stuff and cut and paste paragraphs into proper places so the flow of events didn't seem so strange.

Hah, I've never actually had that problem until now, though.

It was quite an experience; I have to say, ha! Oh, and the lyrics at the beginning under the title are from "Passion" by Utada Hikaru (the jap. Version is Passion, eng. Version is Sanctuary) from the game _Kingdom Hearts II_. Good game, btw. And song. Lol!

The translated version from the Japanese song just spoke to me more, and I listened to it the entire time I wrote this, ha ha!


End file.
